St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, London, Ontario
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St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, is a church located at 196 Dufferin Avenue in
London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
, Canada for the seat of the
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
Diocese of London.


History

The parish now known as St. Peter's was established 10 August 1834 and the first church was constructed of logs at the southwest corner of Dufferin Avenue and Richmond Street. Prior to this, a travelling priest visited the area to celebrate Mass for Catholic residents. The church was dedicated to St. Lawrence and could hold 180 people. It was destroyed along with much of the town in the London fire of 11 April 1845. A larger frame church was built with donated materials and labour, but this church also burned in August 1850. This was replaced by a new St. Lawrence Church constructed of brick. The new church was located at the northeast corner of Dufferin and Richmond, just in front of the present structure. This land was granted by the
Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
to
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
Alexander Macdonell of the Diocese of Kingston. The cornerstone for the new church was laid 29 June 1851, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. The Diocese of London was created in 1856 and Bishop
Pierre-Adolphe Pinsoneault Bishop Pierre-Adolphe Pinsonnault, (also Pinsonnault or Pinsonault), (23 November 1815 – 30 January 1883), was born in Lower Canada and became a Roman Catholic priest in the Sulpician Order. Pinsoneault served as Bishop of the Roman Catholi ...
selected St. Lawrence as his
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
renaming the church ''St. Peter's''. In 1859, Bishop Pinsoneault moved the seat to
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
where it remained until 1868 when Bishop John Walsh, Pinsoneault's successor, moved it back to London. Bishop Walsh felt that the diocese should have a cathedral that was a true monument to its people. He selected Joseph Connolly as architect and construction began in July 1880. The structure was built in a 13th-century French French Gothic Revival style between 1880 and 1885. The cathedral was dedicated 28 June 1885. The first stained glass windows were added in 1889 but the interior decoration was not completed until 1926. The Casavant organ was also installed in that year. In 1958, the twin towers of the facade, Lady Chapel, and sacristy were added, stained glass windows were installed in the narthex and additional interior painting and decoration completed. St. Peter's was raised to the status of a
minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...
13 December 1961 by
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
. In 1968, the Cathedral Basilica's interior was renovated. The existing high altar and communion rails were removed, and a marble altar was installed. The cathedra was moved to the behind the altar. This renovation doubled the size of the sanctuary. The current bishop of the Diocese of London is the Most Reverend Ronald Fabbro, CSB.


See also

*
List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario This is a list of current and former Roman Catholicism in the United States, Roman Catholic churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario. The diocese includes 115 churches in Southwestern Ontario divided into seven administrative regio ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Cathedral, London, Ontario
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
Buildings and structures in London, Ontario 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada